Dubai plans major UK ‘experiential’ campaign

An interactive ‘takeover’ of London’s Waterloo station is planned as the centerpiece of a major winter sun promotional push by Dubai Tourism.

The Here Today, Dubai Tomorrow campaign will see Waterloo station transformed into a ‘living, breathing recreation’ of Dubai’s top experiences from September 4-11.

Technology will let people experience the sights, sounds and attractions of the city on the station’s concourse, with daily Emirates Holidays trips to the destination up for grabs on-site throughout the campaign, and a grand prize available via dubaitomorow.com.

An experiential customer zone at the station will allowing visitors to get up close to Dubai via interactive 360-degree video gaming, virtual reality displays and unique optical illusions, which will see ‘mirage’ like characters seemingly appear on the concourse, from skydivers and camels to scuba divers and falconers.

The campaign is Dubai Tourism’s largest ever experiential marketing activation in the UK and includes promotional partnerships with parenting blog site Tots100, Virgin Radio and Global Radio stations including Heart FM, Capital FM, Smooth FM and Classic FM.

Dubai Tourism has also teamed up with lifestyle YouTuber Patricia Bright for an exclusive video partnership and is collaborating with rising photography star Rich McCor, better known as Instagram genius Paperboyo. He has created eight brand new images giving iconic London landmarks a Dubai twist with cardboard cut-out creations.

These include a pair of camels passing a palm-topped Shard, a twilight Dubai skyline spread across a London Underground sign, and Burj al Arab transported to Trafalgar Square.

The campaign is being run in partnership with Emirates Holidays and is sponsored by Dubai Parks and Resorts.

When it opens at the end of October, Dubai Parks and Resorts will be comprised of three theme parks – Bollywood Park Dubai, Motiongate Dubai, and Legoland Dubai, together with Legoland Water Park.

The destination will also include Riverland Dubai, a themed retail, dining, and entertainment experience, along with the Lapita Hotel, a Polynesian-themed family resort. The entire range of offerings and prices are due to be announced soon.

More than one million British tourists visited the emirate last year, making it Dubai’s third highest source of visitors and its largest in Europe.

Dubai Corporation for Tourism & Commerce Marketing chief executive, Issam Kazim, said: “This is an opportunity to bring a part of Dubai to London and the UK, allowing people to engage with the destination in new and innovative ways.

“Dubai has a rich history of welcoming travellers from the UK, and we want to continue building on that. With an ever evolving destination proposition, there is more and more for UK travellers to experience, whether first timers or regulars, which we hope to bring alive in this latest campaign.”

The Waterloo activation is backed up by an integrated marketing programme involving PR, digital, social and a nine-day advertising domination of Waterloo Station’s entire concourse.

Comments

This is a community-moderated forum.All post are the individual views of the respective commenter and are not the expressed views of Travel Weekly.By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms & Conditions.